{"id":5902,"date":"2022-06-20T15:25:47","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T19:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=5902"},"modified":"2022-06-20T15:25:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T19:25:49","slug":"beyond-the-pointes-modern-segregation-through-environmental-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=5902","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Pointes: Modern Segregation through Environmental Racism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1st Place, Environmental, Health or Science
<\/strong>2021-22, Division 2, News Writing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Eleni Tecos & Meghan Wysocki<\/strong>
The Tower Pulse
Grosse Pointe South HS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While communities like Grosse Pointe thrive, neighboring communities struggle to have their basic environmental and human rights met. Oftentimes, these communities are unable to breathe clean air, drink clean water and live in safe neighborhoods.

Zip code 48217\u2014 an area of Southwest Detroit\u2014 has been identified as the most polluted zip code in Michigan. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the area a\u00a0non-attainment zone\u00a0because of dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide, a known contributor to asthma and ozone that exceeds what\u2019s permitted under the\u00a0Clean Air Act.

Catherine Diggs already knows this. The Manager of Programs and Outreach of Detroit nonprofit\u00a0Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Diggs said the environmental justice movement in Detroit and its surrounding communities is one born out of necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systemic Racism<\/strong>
Barbra Carson, the aunt of Hunter Moreland \u201922, has lived in Flint, Michigan for 71 years. She noted the effects of the 2014 Flint water crisis are still present seven years later.
\u201cPeople are still afraid to drink the water in Flint because there was no honesty during (the Flint water crisis),\u201d Carson said. \u201cThere is a lack of trust between the people and city officials because they have never asked nor communicated with the public about what they were doing.\u201d

As a result of this disconnect, Carson said it is difficult to trust the government to protect the interests of Black people\u2014 this distrust extends into the Flint community.

\u201cThe relationship between Black people and the government is something that is insincere because the government has only ever cared about themselves,\u201d Carson said. \u201c(Flint) city officials are trying to cover their tracks instead of trying to help people.\u201d

But Flint, while nationally publicized, is only one example of the severe effects of environmental racism. The Center for Disease Control cites systemic inequities in\u00a0social determinants of health\u00a0as a reason why minority groups are more likely to have increased COVID-19 disease severity. Diggs called the link between environmental racism and the deadly impacts of COVID-19 on Black and Brown communities \u201cinseparable\u201d.

\u201cWhen people who live in historically polluted neighborhoods have an illness like COVID-19 that affects the lungs, it becomes obvious how much damage corporations are doing to these neighborhoods and the people who live there,\u201d Diggs said. \u201cPeople start dropping like flies. COVID-19 really brought that realization to light for (many people).\u201d

University of Michigan sustainability professor Kyle Whyte, who is a member of the\u00a0Citizen Potawatomi Nation\u00a0and sits on the Biden\/Harris administration\u2019s\u00a0Environmental Justice Advisory Council, said corporations often take advantage of Indigenous communities who have been denied the right to organize.

\u201cIndigenous people don\u2019t really have an option to define what is safe in their community because we have been denied the capacity to operate as sovereigns,\u201d Whyte said. \u201cTribes in Michigan have recently won some victories, like the stall on the Line 5 pipeline, but it\u2019s very taxing on communities to have to fight those battles all the time.\u201d

According to Diggs, money and the ability to organize play a significant role in where corporations choose to build refineries and plants in Detroit and the rest of the country. The placement of these buildings, she said, doesn\u2019t happen by mistake.
\u201cThey would never open Marathon Oil Refinery in Grosse Pointe,\u201d Diggs said. \u201cYou have money; your voices are heard more loudly. They know they\u2019d never get a permit in Grosse Pointe, but they can get a permit in Southwest Detroit. They know undocumented residents are scared to go to hearings because they might get deported. It\u2019s very strategic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education<\/strong>
In light of this, Diggs said education is the first step toward expanding conservations around environmental racism. People in affluent communities must become aware of how historic environmental racism affects food, housing and economic insecurity in communities of color, according to Diggs.

Within environmental education, Save the Lakes president Bridget Clark \u201921 said more visibility is necessary in the environmental justice movement\u2014 a claim substantiated by a 2014 University of Michigan\u00a0study\u00a0that stated \u201cthe dominant culture of (environmental) organizations is alienating to ethnic minorities, the poor, the LGBTQ+ community and others outside the mainstream.\u201d

\u201cEnvironmental activists (often) overlook other cultures when they\u2019re trying to make a change,\u201d Clark said. \u201cFor example, veganism is promoted as a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but it has been advertised as if eating meat is a very bad thing. (In reality, Indigenous) cultures source meat sustainably.\u201d

Whyte said the absence of policies dedicated to anti-racism within environmental groups can be somewhat attributed to misinformation surrounding Indigenous history. A 2015\u00a0report\u00a0by researchers at Pennsylvania State University found 87 percent of content taught about Indigenous people includes only pre-1900 context, resulting in a \u201cpainfully one-sided\u201d curriculum, according to Whyte.

\u201cPeople are not supportive of our goals and well-being,\u201d Whyte said. \u201cNotice in almost any educational system, there\u2019s almost no curriculum on Indigenous culture. A lot of Americans grow up not knowing anything about the fact that prior to the formation of the United States, there were generations of Indigenous people living here.\u201d

Carson also pointed to the lack of education on the adversities of minorities in American schools, saying the main thing that needs to change in order to combat environmental racism is people.

\u201cPeople are the prime reason there is environmental racism in the first place,\u201d Carson said. \u201cWe need to teach people how to care about our environment because right now all we\u2019re doing is living in a trash can\u2014 we have the power to pick up one piece of trash and it can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving Forward<\/strong>
However, educating people is only one part of the equation. Moving forward requires reflective change, and in order to make a lasting impact on American culture, environmental policy must be reformed to reflect all voices, according to Diggs.

\u201cEnvironmental racism (can be dismantled at) a larger scale when leaders have experience in environmental justice,\u201d Diggs said. \u201cNothing would change if communities didn\u2019t organize\u2014 corporate interests would always take over without pushback. It\u2019s when oppressed communities fight back, which they have and continue to do, that things begin to change.\u201d

Whyte seconded Diggs, arguing the course of redefining environmental policy should be at the discretion of people of color. Alongside the Biden\/Harris administration, Whyte is working to assess investment in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, updates to\u00a0Executive Order 12898\u00a0and more. In regard to Indigenous communities, Whyte said tribes must be given the opportunity to interact with the policy-making process.

\u201c(We need) to find ways to strengthen the voices of Indigenous people and people of color so they can determine their own approaches to respecting the environment and to transitioning into a zero carbon energy system,\u201d Whyte said. \u201cThey must have a chance to consent to activities that threaten their environment. They get to determine what safe enough means.\u201d

Diggs said the most important thing to take away from the environmental justice movement is that it is intrinsically interconnected with the broader social justice movement. Justice for our planet and justice for all people are two profound conversations happening simultaneously, but often in different rooms.

\u201cCommunities of color living by polluting facilities has a lot to do with deep systemic racism,\u201d Diggs said. \u201cThe result of that is massive public health issues combined with scarce economic and educational opportunities. It\u2019s an endless cycle of oppression. So that\u2019s the real message: social and environmental justice are two in one\u2014 they are not to be distinguished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

View original material<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NW-17. Environmental, Health or Science<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This story will focus on an environmental, health or science topic. It can be a straight news story or an investigative piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judging Criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  • Topic relevant to the school or students and covers health, science or environmental story that is informative<\/li>
  • Sharp, attention-getting lead grabs reader and arouses curiosity<\/li>
  • Shows thorough reporting skills through research and interviewing<\/li>
  • Effective use of facts\/quotes from both primary and secondary sources<\/li>
  • Balanced, fair and sensitive presentation<\/li>
  • Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly<\/li>
  • Proper diction\/grammar; use of third person<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    1st Place, Environmental, Health or Science2021-22, Division 2, News Writing By Eleni Tecos & Meghan WysockiThe Tower PulseGrosse Pointe South HS While communities like Grosse Pointe thrive, neighboring communities struggle to have their basic environmental and human rights met. Oftentimes, these communities are unable to breathe clean air, drink clean water and live in safe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65,4],"tags":[182,21],"class_list":["post-5902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-environmentalhealthorscience-nw","category-nw","tag-2021-22","tag-division2","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Morgan Womack","author_link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?author=12"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6K0n6-1xc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5902\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}